As the year draws to a close, there is still a great deal of uncertainty surrounding the future of the UK economy. That said, the most recent job market data from CV-Library, the UK’s leading independent job site, has revealed that salaries across the UK saw a steady increase of 1.3% last month, when compared with data from October 2017.
The statistics also show that the nation witnessed a year-on-year increase in salaries, rising by 1.9% in November. What’s more, many key industries across the UK experienced stand-out growth which not only outpaced the national average, but also inflation. The sectors to see the highest increases in salaries last month include:
- Education – 7.7%
- Catering – 7.4%
- Retail – 6.7%
- Legal – 5.6%
- Recruitment – 1.7%
Not only this, but some of the nation’s key cities also saw a hike in advertised salaries in November. These included Cardiff (15.5%), Brighton (7.4%), Newcastle (5.4%), Sheffield (4.1%) and Glasgow (3.9%).
Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library comments on the findings:
“It’s positive to see that salaries are on the rise across the UK, especially in some of the nation’s key cities and industries. With Christmas fast approaching many businesses will have been working hard to recruit for additional seasonal staff. Not only this, but in the run up to the New Year many organisations will be looking to boost their recruitment efforts ahead of the January rush.”
The data also revealed that job vacancies saw a 5.8% increase across the nation, when compared with data from the same period in 2016. What’s more, some of the key industries to witness a rise in salaries also experienced year-on-year job growth in November, with education, recruitment and retail increasing by 16.1%, 11.1% and 5.6% respectively.
Job applications across the UK decreased in November, falling by 6.4% month-on-month. Though this may spark concerns for employers with live vacancies, it is not unusual for this time of year, as many candidates sit tight until Christmas is over with. We expect to see application rates pick back up in January, in keeping with the traditional New Year recruitment rush.
Biggins concludes:
“As we approach the New Year, we expect to see a certain amount of job growth, as businesses across the nation gear up for the January recruitment rush. That said, this year-on-year increase in job vacancies, and a fall in applications, could indicate that the skills gap is continuing to widen.
“November saw the announcement of the Autumn Budget, which offered some reassurance to the nation’s workers and businesses. New government partnerships aim to deliver training schemes across some of our key industries, to equip professionals with the skills they need and to begin bridging the gap. Investment in areas of education, particularly in science, technology, engineering, and maths (STEM) skills will hopefully begin to build a pipeline of talent for the future.”
